Oden signs with Lamar football

Lamar University announced the signing of former Arkansas offensive lineman Anthony Oden.

Here’s the university press release:

Lamar University will get a huge addition to its football team later this week. Huge, that is, as in 6-foot-8 and 328 pounds.

Anthony Oden, who in 2009 became the first offensive lineman to start at the University of Arkansas since 2001, is expected to join Cardinal workouts as soon as he can get relocated to Beaumont. He appeared only in the Razorbacks’ early-season game against Louisiana-Monroe last year and was granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA after encountering a season-ending illness.

Oden, the younger brother of National Basketball Association star Greg Oden Jr. of the Portland Trailblazers, will have three years of eligibility remaining, beginning immediately. He will play at one of the offensive tackles, and head coach Ray Woodard said his position on the depth chart will be determined after he goes through a couple of weeks of practices leading up to the Cardinals’ season opener against Texas College in 16,00-seat Provost Umphrey Stadium on Sept. 3.

As a freshman in 2009, Oden blocked for an Arkansas team that led the Southeastern Conference in scoring offense (36.0 points-per-game average) and passing offense (average of 295.5 yards per game) and was third in total offense (427.3 yards per game). The Razorbacks ranked 10th in the nation in passing offense that season, 20th in total offense, ninth in scoring and 11th in passing efficiency.

“Certainly, because of his size, we are looking forward to having Anthony as a member of our football team,” said Woodard, who guided the Cardinals to a 5-6 record during the 2010 season, the school’s first since resurrecting the program after a 21-year hiatus. “He has great feet to go with his size, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in a Lamar uniform.

Oden is a native of Indianapolis, and he is a former teammate of current Lamar offensive tackle Daniel Campbell (6-5 and 345 pounds), a transfer from Navarro College, at Hargrave, Va. Military Academy. He attended Hargrave, a prep school, after graduating from Indianapolis North High School in 2008, and he helped lead Hargrave to a 10-1 record.

Oden split time between tight end and defensive end during his high school career, and he also starred in basketball, helping to lead his team to a state championship.